Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1887-12-02
A Dozen Employees Buried Deep Under
l Debris and Terribley Injured.
One Woman Killed Outright and H0r-
ribly Mangled-Loss Not Heavy.
Explosion Caused by Freezing of the
Supply Pipe Of the Range Boiler.
4 SAD DISASTER.

| Kirby house was startled by dull-sound
ing explosion, followed a moment later
by the sound of falling walls and the
screams of terrified women, mingled with
the groans aid cries of agonized victims
1t was evident that the rear of the
| Kirby house was the scene of the com
motion, and the excited crowd rushed to
the alley between the Kirby house and
the Sentinel building, where, when the
steam and dust cleared away, they found
| that a SECTION of wall about forty feet
square had been torn from the rear of
the hotel by a terrific explosion within,
and a huge mass of debris in the
alley, under which were number
of dead and mangled and shrieking
victims. Although startled for a secon d
by the sight that met their view, the spec
tators went bravely to work and with bare
hands began to raise the bricks and fallen
timbers which pinned some of the vic
tins to the ground. As fast as the wound
ed were reached they were carried to the
| front part of the house where everything
| possible was done for them. A dozen
doc iors were soon on hand.
THE VICTIMS.
The following is list of the fatally in
jured:
Mrs. E. NJ. Gage, second cook, 80 years
of age, widow, resides at Wauwautosa.
| Crushed to an unrecognizable mass be-
reath the walls.
Carrie Olson, dining room girl, home
at Janesvilie, 10 years of age; fatally
burned on chest, arms and face.
Annie Kennedy, pastry cook, 165
Huron street, spine dislocated. Will
| die.
Frank Humpel, cook, so years of age,
255 Seventh street, head cut and scalded.
| Will recover.
Maggie Dolap, kitchen girl, scalded
face aud neck, and received severe shock
to nervous system. Injuries not fatal.
VIM. Beckwith, proprietor, bruised
| about the head, but not seriously.
Mrs. Stays, laundry, home unknown.
Bodily scalded. Will recover.
Nellie, Thompson, Sentinel office; home
| at 220 Milwaukee street Cut about the
head and face. VIII live.
Maggie Kreger, kitchen girl, 20 years
old, blown from third story, received
dangerous bruises.
Lizzie Callaghan, dish washer, scalded
about the face and body; not dangerous.
Mary Arbuckle, pastry cook, home at
hot ell. bruised leg and thigh.
Nora Doherty, dish'washer, slightly
scalded.
Alice Burke, GAINESVILLE, pantry girl face
cut and body bruised.
Julia Felkmeyer, Milwaukee street, in
ternally injured, but not seriously.
THE NEWS SPREAD LIKE WILD FIRE,
and it took the services of every police
man and detective the central station
could muster to keep back the crowds
| xphn Tod 70 o,,I la1r, +ho
who were promptly on the ground and
had begun to clear away the debris in q
! systematic manner, at the same time
| propping up the walls above, which hung
over them in a threatening way. Besides
| the guests who were at breakfast there
were twenty dining room, kitchen and
laundry girls in the immediate vicinity of
| the explosion, besides those whose duties
in the hotel brought them to that part of
! the house. The wonder is that no more
lives were lost.
AN EXPLOSION THE CAUSE.
The explosion occurred in a hot water
tank connected with the range, which was
about SIX feet high and a foot square,
and was fed from a coil of pipe built in
SO that it was subject to the action of the
| fire, and heated the water as it passed
through from the supply pipe, going out
| through another pipe to the boiler. The
supply pipe was frozen, and plumbers
had been working at it all morning, try
ing to tbaw it out. 1t is supposed that
the water got so low in this water-back
that it turned into steam so rapidly that
| an explosion followed and everything
was torn to pieces.
! Th. big boiler Is located in another
part of the basement, nearly 100 feet
| away.
When the explosion occurred the tank
went staight up in the air, through four
| floors and on to the roof, where it now
lies, badly battered from its sudden
flight
| Besides this direct damage half the
windows in the house are broken and
many of the partitions badly wrecked.
| Secretary Rose, of the board of under.
writer's, says that the loss, which is esti-
mated at from $4,000 to $4,000, is not
covered by the insurance, as policies do
not include damage from explosions. 1t
cannot be determined, until an investiga-
! tion has taken place, whether the loss
will fall on Abner Kirby, owner of the
! building, or on Messrs. Beckwith S
| Josslyn, the lessees.
OTHER DAMAGE.
/
about 15 feet wide, is the Sentinel book
bindery. The flying bricks and debris
! crashed through the windows of the build
! ing seriously in1uring two or three of the
nine young women employed there this
morning. All of the windows at the side
! opposite the KIRBY house were blown in,
aud some stock in the bindery damaged.
A screen on a window in the Kirby house
was blown across the alley through a
! window into the Sentinel Job room. The
! damage will not be over S75.
ONE OF THE PRoPRrEroRs INJURED.
Whes the explosion occurred, Mr.. Beck
/ with one of the proprietors of the ho-
tel, was standing in the alley, and was
| completely covered by bricks and falling
debris, so that all that could be seen of
| him when the steam and dust cleared
away was one hand sticking up in the
ai-. Willing hands soon uncovered him,
| aud he was able to walk to his room,
| where he insisted that the first doctors
who came should be sent into the room
where the wounded girls were being
cared fer. Beyond several bruises and
the shock he was not injured.
HORRIBLE SIGHT.
Mrs. Gage has been employed at the
| Kirby house only about a week, coming
there from the insane asylum at Wauwa-
tosa. She is q widow, about 80 years and
leaves son years of age. Mrs Gage
| was very large woman, weighing about
! 200 pounds At the time of the accident
she was engaged directly behind the
fatal heater. Her death must have been
| instantaneous. She was buried to con-
siderable depth beneath the heap of
I fall h-,n r.
brought to light the sight was sickning;
her face was crushed in, and her whole
body hattened out by the weight
of the ruins that had fallen upon her.
Only for the large size of the body and
the fact thst she was missing could the
remains have been identified. Even the
police and fremen. Injured as they are to
sights of this nature, paled as the sick
ening object was laid in the patrol wagon,
and the ,rovd which had displayed such
a morbid curiosity fe2 back. For once